As with all the stories of the bible, this one has a primary message that most all of us recognize and is our immediate focus upon reading the story. In this case the focus is upon Peter. After sharing the last supper with His disciples, Jesus had said to them “This very night you will all fall away on account of me…” As we all know, Peter responded that he would never fall away. When Jesus told Peter that Peter would deny Him three times before the cock crowed, Peter declared that he would die with Jesus before ever disowning Him.
As Peter subsequently does deny Christ three times, and then hears the cock crow, we are all reminded of the frailty we share with Peter. Our thoughts naturally turn to past instances when we have felt we would always be true to Christ, only to recall and regret how we too have subsequently failed. This message is a humbling reminder of our weakness in the flesh. Yet we can take heart in knowing how God used this situation in Peter’s life to mold him into a powerful and steadfast follower. It is an encouragement to know that God can and does use our failings to ultimately sharpen and mold us as well.
Beyond this primary message about Peter, our table discussions brought to mind several other messages that spoke to us through this scripture. One of those was related to the actions of the other disciples.
All of the other disciples also declared to Jesus that they would not fall away, yet they too abandoned Jesus and failed to stand by Him when He was taken away. Yet their failings often go unnoticed when reading this scripture. It was Peter’s denial that was so publically exposed.
In our discussion we recognized how often we deny Christ, though not in such a direct way as Peter. We noted that our denial often comes in our failure to speak up and acknowledge Jesus when He is being disparaged by those around us. Like the other disciples in this story, our “denial” can go unnoticed, but isn’t it denial of Christ nonetheless? We discussed the kinds of situations where that type of “silent denial” occurs, and ways that we could appropriately and publicly stand on behalf of Jesus in those situations.
Let us each take a few moments to consider the situations and ways in which we effectively deny Christ in our own lives. Some ways we are very aware of already, and need to repent, and pray for the strength to be stronger in the future. We should also invite God to show us where we are blind to ways in which we deny Him. It was the cock’s crow that caused Peter to realize what he had done, and when Peter saw Jesus looking at him he “left the courtyard and cried bitterly.” In that moment, Peter saw himself clearly, and it brought conviction, sorrow, and ultimately redemption. As God used the cock’s crow to get Peter’s attention, may the Holy Spirit find ways to get our attention where needed, and convict us as well.